Many professional readers offer services that skirt the lines of editing, which is great and I've found their feedback very helpful. However, personally, I would appreciate readers that are just reading for pleasure and are able to offer some general (or specific) reactions. Things like, "I'm bored and can't get past the third chapter" or, "This guy is awful, he's my favorite!"
I'm sure there are many other authors that feel the same way. There is a thread where you can offer to beta-read for free, and you can field offers from authors to determine if you have any interest in the book: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...
There are also opportunities for paid betas, however many of them are offering a bit of editorial advice with it. I have no idea if anyone has been successful in getting paid for a read and general comments. I would definitely be up for that, but that is just me (so feel free to hit me up if you are interested).
I've done it for a few folks (free) and they seemed to enjoy the feedback (I tend to respond as thoughts strike me by commenting in a manuscript). I've found some very enjoyable things to read, and some very unusual styles (traditional editing can drown out the voice of some authors, I find).
Anywho, it would be great if interested folks on here popped over to see if there is anything that they fancy. I think feedback from a reader perspective (not just editorial) is extremely valuable and passionate, genre specific fans are a requirement! There are several talented beta-readers that provide an invaluable service well worth their pay, but sometimes authors need a deep nerd to call them out on their use of vancian magic, point out that a particular vein of chromatic dragon type it too close to Dungeons & Dragons, or remind them that the explosion did not make a large 'boom' sound as there is no sound in space. Or, simply let them know if it was any fun to read.
I was hoping to encourage the members here to think about beta-reading. Good Reads has a great group for it:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
Many professional readers offer services that skirt the lines of editing, which is great and I've found their feedback very helpful. However, personally, I would appreciate readers that are just reading for pleasure and are able to offer some general (or specific) reactions. Things like, "I'm bored and can't get past the third chapter" or, "This guy is awful, he's my favorite!"
I'm sure there are many other authors that feel the same way. There is a thread where you can offer to beta-read for free, and you can field offers from authors to determine if you have any interest in the book:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...
Or a thread where you can peruse authors looking for free betas:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...
There are also opportunities for paid betas, however many of them are offering a bit of editorial advice with it. I have no idea if anyone has been successful in getting paid for a read and general comments. I would definitely be up for that, but that is just me (so feel free to hit me up if you are interested).
I've done it for a few folks (free) and they seemed to enjoy the feedback (I tend to respond as thoughts strike me by commenting in a manuscript). I've found some very enjoyable things to read, and some very unusual styles (traditional editing can drown out the voice of some authors, I find).
Anywho, it would be great if interested folks on here popped over to see if there is anything that they fancy. I think feedback from a reader perspective (not just editorial) is extremely valuable and passionate, genre specific fans are a requirement! There are several talented beta-readers that provide an invaluable service well worth their pay, but sometimes authors need a deep nerd to call them out on their use of vancian magic, point out that a particular vein of chromatic dragon type it too close to Dungeons & Dragons, or remind them that the explosion did not make a large 'boom' sound as there is no sound in space. Or, simply let them know if it was any fun to read.
Hope you all find something you like!